Social divides

5 May 2015, 4:05 pm

Time for a quick tangential pre-election post. Personally I can completely understand the apathy felt by those that will not be voting on Thursday. However I do hope there is a large and diverse pool of voters regardless. The biggest issue I feel that faces us during the next 5 years of British government is the structure of society itself and the divide between and lack of mobility within it. While I feel this is something that has been raised more during the campaigns this year than at previous elections with numerous smaller parties gaining popularity, I’m still not convinced any of the parties have policies in their manifestos to back up real change on the issue.

Gaining employment and ‘progressing’ within a career is becoming very antithetical to traditional values of hard work and a willingness to learn. It seems more than ever people face a very tough, almost game-like, process to gain access to a ‘professional’ job market where there are few opportunities to progress without further compounding the ‘game’ itself. The barrier to entry and progression in the professional world doesn’t help the tiered society we see, and creates conflict for people who don’t want to compromise on their own values to earn a decent wage.

To me small businesses seem to provide the greatest opportunity for people to grow and learn in this society due to their independence, but it is entirely up to how they are run as to whether they provide such opportunities. Independence of small business is not a reliable recipe for social mobility.

Personally I wonder if a shift in values (towards a greater, more equal quality of life for all) and greater respect for them in society is the only thing that can change this situation, rather than politics itself. While I will be voting, I don’t think this issue will be righted by any one political party.